Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Garden Experience - 2017

We had a relatively successful experience with our garden this year. The following shows 1) what we planted, 2) whether it was first planted in a greenhouse, 3) date it was first planted (unless perennial), 4) days to harvest (based on packet info), 5) estimated date it would be harvested (based on DtoH), 6) actual date it was first harvested, and 7) score (0 = no harvest, 1-9 = poor to excellent, based on a composite of yield. flavor, disease resistance, etc., but mostly yield). The score could be partly a reflection of the type of weather we had this year (relatively wet), location within garden (shade and soil quality differences), and other variables.

Crop
sorted alphabetically

GH

Plant

DToH

EstHarv

ActualHarv

Score

Apple tree

No

Perenn

N/A

15-Jul

xxx

0

Asparagus

No

Perenn

N/A

1-Apr

3-Apr

8

Beets 'Red
Ace'

No

21-Mar

50

10-May

9-Jun

8

Blueberries
“Pink'

No

Perenn

N/A

1-Jul

xxx

0

Blueberries
'Sunshine Blue'

No

Perenn

N/A

1-Jul

5-Jul

2

Broccoli
'Green Magic'

No

22-Mar

57

18-May

16-Jun

7

Bush Beans
'Blue Lake Bush 274'

No

8-May

70

17-Jul

28-Jun

9

Cabbage
'Capture F1'

No

22-Mar

87

17-Jun

15-Jul

2

Cabbage
'Stonehead'

No

6-Mar

67

12-May

12-Jun

7

Cantaloupe
'Sarah's Choice''

Yes

18-Mar

76

2-Jun

13-Jul

2

Carrots
'Nantes'

No

21-Mar

70

30-May

18-Jun

4

Cauliflower
'Snow Crown'

No

22-Mar

60

21-May

13-Jul

1

Cherry tree

No

Perenn

N/A

15-Jul

xxx

0

Corn1 'Early
Sunglow Hybrid'

Yes

10-Apr

63

12-Jun

28-Jun

7

Corn2
'Xtra-Tender 20173'

No

28-Apr

73

10-Jul

14-Jul

9

Corn3
'Hawaiian Supersweet #9'

No

10-May

83

1-Aug

11-Aug

6

Cowpeas (not purple hull)

No

25-May

80

13-Aug

18-Sep

3

Cucumber
'Dasher II'

Yes

18-Mar

58

15-May

9-Jun

2

Lettuce --
blend (stayed in GH)

GH

18-Jan

60

19-Mar

20-Mar

8

Mesclun
(spicy mix, sweet mix)

GH

18-Jan

45

4-Mar

10-Mar

8

Onions, green generic

No

21-Mar

60

20-May

13-May

8

Onions, sweet
'Candy'

No

21-Mar

110

9-Jul

7-Jul

7

Peach tree

No

Perenn

N/A

15-Jul

9-Jul

7

Pear tree 'Bartlett'

No

Perenn

N/A

15-Jul

xxx

0

Peas, edible
pod 'Dwarf Sugar'

No

21-Mar

60

20-May

13-May

4

Peas, edible
pod 'Snowbird'

No

21-Mar

58

18-May

20-May

8

Peppers, baby
bell 'Bellafina'

Yes

18-Mar

80

6-Jun

28-Jul

5

Plum tree

No

Perenn

N/A

15-Jul

27-Jun

2

Potato
'Kennebec'

No

24-Mar

90

22-Jun

1-Jul

8

Pumpkin

Yes

2-Apr

110

21-Jul

21-Jul

3

Radishes
'Sparkler'

No

21-Mar

25

15-Apr

24-Apr

8

Raspberries

No

Perenn

N/A

1-Jun

1-Jun

9

Rhubarb
(Victoria)

No

Perenn

N/A

9-Jun

16-Jun

4

Soybeans,
'Tohya'

No

19-Jun

78

5-Sep

11-Aug

5

Spinach
'Palco Hybrid'

GH

18-Mar

50

7-May

5-May

6

Squash
'Straightneck'

Yes

18-Mar

50

7-May

18-May

8

Squash
'Waltham Butternut'

Yes

2-Apr

105

16-Jul

29-Jul

3

Strawberries

No

Perenn

N/A

1-May

1-May

5

Sweet Potato
'Evangeline'

No

20-Apr

120

18-Aug

1-Nov

9

Tomato
'Beefmaster'

Yes

18-Mar

77

3-Jun

28-Jun

6

Tomato
'Better Boy'

Yes

24-Apr

70

15-Jun

1-Jul

6

Tomato 'Pink
Ponderosa'

Yes

18-Mar

77

3-Jun

6-Jul

5

Tomato
'Rutgers'

Yes

8-Mar

70

17-May

17-Jun

6

Tomato,
cherry type

Yes

18-Mar

77

3-Jun

9-Jun

8

Tomato,
hybrid 'BHN 589'

Yes

18-Mar

75

1-Jun

15-Jul

7

Tomato, roma
'Speckled Roman'

Yes

18-Mar

85

11-Jun

9-Jul

4

Watermelon
'Sugar Baby'

Yes

2-Apr

80

21-Jun

1-Aug

4

Zucchini

Yes

20-Apr

45

4-Jun

26-Jun

2

We have observed that some crops can be poor one year and excellent the next, vice versa. For example, we planted our beets in a 2" wide, 6" deep trench of worm dirt this year (made by digging with a pick), and they did great; previous years, they have been a near complete failure. Second example, the last two years, our plum tree was loaded with plums; this year hardly any. Third example, all previous years, cucumbers had done quite well; this year, planted in a newly installed soil, the same variety hardly produced anything, and died prematurely.

Looking at the comparison of estimated vs actual harvest dates, I noticed that crops planted extra early, especially those first planted in the greenhouse then transplanted to the field, tended to reach harvest considerably later than expected. Whereas crops planted late, came in more quickly than expected, most notably the bush beans and soybeans. The two anomalies, to me, were the cowpeas and the peppers (Bella Fina type). Both remained vegetative longer than expected before reaching the flowering stage, and I'm not sure why. I honestly don't believe it is because of excessive nitrogen application, which can always be a culprit. My guess is that it may be a daylength response.